Can opener



D. FARANDATOS CAN OPENER Filed March 9, 1953 A JNVENToR. DEN/S FARANDATOS BY 1,/ l

'4 ATTORNEY April 27, 1954 Patented Apr. 27, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN OPENER Denis Farandatos, New York, N. Y. Application March 9, `1953, Serial No. 341,008 4 claims. (ol. :eo-9) This invention relates to the problem of sanitation in the opening of cans. very great in restaurants, army The problem is camps, hospitals 'f and the like because of the great number of cans opened in such places.

The knives of the can :j

openers become dull, and tend to tear 01T small i pieces of metal from the food and are consumed.

cans, which fall into the if Those pieces of metal may be injurious to the internal organs of those Who consume them. Also, can openers are used, without `cleaning the knives, to open many cans, frequently of different foods, so that the edges of the cans become contaminated by food of one sort and transfer traces of it to the contents o f different cans. E

It is an object of this invention to make a selfcleaning can opener that will gather and safely metal and which will-,

dispose of such particles of straddle the knii'e and bear lightly against its opposite faces 22, 23, from the cuttingedge inwardly so far as desired. The scraper 2| is V shaped, forming a trough into which the particles caught by the knife are scraped by the edges of the slot between the furcations as the knife is rotated.

The scraper 20 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 24 by means of a bolt 25 around which a coil spring 26 is mounted, bearing at one end on the bolt head and at the other end on the bracket 24. 'Ihe bracket and the scraper may be provided with aligning groove and land 21 which hold the scraper lightly against displacement continuously clean the edges of can opener knivesxff The objects of the invention are accomplishecLi by a can opener having ail knife, and a mechanical?,r the cutting edge thereof-. to which the particles ofjattracted and attachedfl The objects are accomplished by an apparatus'of l.

generally speaking, circular magnetized scraper associated with and with those portions metal are magnetically which the figures of the drawing show a pije ferred example. f'

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a can opener provided with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the working parts of the device of Fig. 1. I r

There is described in U. S. Patent No. 2,462,416 a. type of can opener mechanism to which this invention can be readily applied. In the known construction of that opener there is a frame plate I which may be mounted on an appropriate sup-f pori; and upon which the Working parts are mounted. The working parts include a rotary gear II having a flat face I2 against which the edge of the cutting blade I3 bears in cutting position. The gear teeth I4 extend outward from a position behind the knurled edge I5 of the face I2, which serves to rotate a can by bearing against the edge thereof. circular and is connected The biade laY is 3.159 to a gear I 6 which can mesh with gear teeth I4. The gears I4--Iliy are thus capable of bemg rotated by a crank and thus moves the blade I3 and gear I6 into and out of cooperating relation to plate I2 and gear Il respectively. Thus far, the structure described is old.

According to my invention, the blade I3, which incises the can, is magnetized so that it will pick up all small particles of metal that may be cut or torn from the can and its Walls. Associated with that magnetized blade is a. scraper having a. bifurcated end 2I the furcations of which I3. The groove will other, the land and acting as cams to scraper is pivoted from contact with the cutter be in one and the land in the groove having inclined sides compress spring 26 when the away from the knife.

This combination of the magnetized knife and the mechanical scraper is highly useful, as it keeps food and metal particles picked up by the knife from being returned to the can.

The scraper is shown above the horizontal diameter of the knife, because at that location the scraping is done at a more eilicient angle than would be the case on the diameter or below it. The angle between scraper and knife is more conducive to ready transfer of particles. The trough-shape of the scraper is efficient for holding scrapings and for conforming the furcations to the faces of the knife.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of the present invention may be made wihout departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A can opener having a circular, magnetized knife, mechanical scraper means mounted in association with the said magnetized knife, and means to receive the scrapings removed from said knife by said scraper.

2. A can opener as described in claim 1 in which the receiver means is a trough associated with said knife.

3. A can opener having a pair of cooperating elements for cutting a can, one of said elements being a knife and being magnetizedVmeans for moving said knife into and out of cutting position, and mechanical scraper means mounted in association with the edge of said magnetized knife.

4. A can opener having a circular, magnetized blade, a scraper comprising a troughshaped metal body having a V-shaped slot the edges of which engage the edge of said knife in operative position, and supporting means for said scraper comprising a pivot enabling the scraper to be moved away from the knife.

No references cited. 

